Douglas S. Cramer(1931-2021)
- Producer
- Production Manager
- Writer
Douglas S. Cramer is one of the most successful producers in the
history of television, and a well-known collector of modern art who has
served on the boards of numerous museums. He began as a TV executive
for Proctor & Gamble in the late 1950s after earning a Master's degree
from Columbia University. He skyrocketed to prominence throughout the
1960s, serving as an Executive Vice President at 20th Century-Fox, head
of Paramount TV (where he worked on
The Brady Bunch (1969),
Mission: Impossible (1966)
and The Odd Couple (1970),
among many others) and head of programming at ABC Television, where he
was the boss of future moguls Barry Diller
and Michael Eisner.
In the late 1960s Cramer became an independent producer, creating TV movies and series. He went on to produce the first mini-series, QB VII (1974) (winner of multiple Emmys), over 100 made-for-TV movies and such successful such as The Love Boat (1977), Dynasty (1981), The Colbys (1985), Matt Houston (1982), Vega$ (1978), Wonder Woman (1975) and many others, dominating the ABC line-up for several years, and shooting dozens of TV series pilots. He was an equal partner with Aaron Spelling for nearly 15 years (1974-1989), during which he amassed a considerable fortune, even as he generally stayed behind the scenes.
Once he and Spelling ended their partnership, Cramer's incredible string of successes came to an end. In 1989 he managed just one more big success: a multi-year deal to do 23 Danielle Steel movies for NBC. At this time Cramer met and fell in love with writer Hugh Bush and began to develop projects almost exclusively for him to write, direct and produce. This included Cramer's only feature film, Sleeping Together (1997), which Cramer self-financed for Bush to write and direct but which never found theatrical distribution. While ex-partner Spelling continued to succeed with such mega-hits as Melrose Place (1992) and Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990), Cramer's instincts seemed to fall out of step with the changing tastes of the public, as he experienced repeated failures for the first time in his career. Unable to sell television or film projects, Cramer retreated to Manhattan, where he continues to enjoy life as a patron of the arts with Bush as a domestic partner. Although now openly gay, Cramer was married to gossip columnist Joyce Haber and had two children, Douglas S. Cramer III and Courtney Cramer. Haber, related to prominent agent Bill Haber, tragically died of cancer. Also tragic was the suicide of Courtney Cramer before the age of 30, and the estrangement of Cramer's son Douglas S. Cramer III. Despite this personal turmoil, Cramer's career skyrocketed him to the heights of a TV mogul, making him worth an estimated $300 million at his zenith, with his $100-million modern art collection counted among the largest in the world. Once the owner of numerous enviable estates around the world, Cramer has since scaled back to Manhattan, Martha's Vineyard, and Roxbury, where he now lives with Hugh Bush.
In the late 1960s Cramer became an independent producer, creating TV movies and series. He went on to produce the first mini-series, QB VII (1974) (winner of multiple Emmys), over 100 made-for-TV movies and such successful such as The Love Boat (1977), Dynasty (1981), The Colbys (1985), Matt Houston (1982), Vega$ (1978), Wonder Woman (1975) and many others, dominating the ABC line-up for several years, and shooting dozens of TV series pilots. He was an equal partner with Aaron Spelling for nearly 15 years (1974-1989), during which he amassed a considerable fortune, even as he generally stayed behind the scenes.
Once he and Spelling ended their partnership, Cramer's incredible string of successes came to an end. In 1989 he managed just one more big success: a multi-year deal to do 23 Danielle Steel movies for NBC. At this time Cramer met and fell in love with writer Hugh Bush and began to develop projects almost exclusively for him to write, direct and produce. This included Cramer's only feature film, Sleeping Together (1997), which Cramer self-financed for Bush to write and direct but which never found theatrical distribution. While ex-partner Spelling continued to succeed with such mega-hits as Melrose Place (1992) and Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990), Cramer's instincts seemed to fall out of step with the changing tastes of the public, as he experienced repeated failures for the first time in his career. Unable to sell television or film projects, Cramer retreated to Manhattan, where he continues to enjoy life as a patron of the arts with Bush as a domestic partner. Although now openly gay, Cramer was married to gossip columnist Joyce Haber and had two children, Douglas S. Cramer III and Courtney Cramer. Haber, related to prominent agent Bill Haber, tragically died of cancer. Also tragic was the suicide of Courtney Cramer before the age of 30, and the estrangement of Cramer's son Douglas S. Cramer III. Despite this personal turmoil, Cramer's career skyrocketed him to the heights of a TV mogul, making him worth an estimated $300 million at his zenith, with his $100-million modern art collection counted among the largest in the world. Once the owner of numerous enviable estates around the world, Cramer has since scaled back to Manhattan, Martha's Vineyard, and Roxbury, where he now lives with Hugh Bush.
